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Senate asks Apple and other tech companies for distracted driving solutions

Cody Lee ∙ February 7, 2014

The US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation host a daylong summit yesterday to discuss the growing problem of distracted driving. Drivers texting and doing other phone-related activities are now causing more than 1 million accidents per year.

A number of representatives from major tech companies attended the summit, including executives from Google, Samsung, AT&T, Sprint and Apple. The Senate is asking that they all work together to come up with more robust technical solutions to distracted driving...

Following 8 percent slide, Apple repurchases $14 billion in stock

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Apple reported the financial results for its holiday quarter late last month, and for the most part they killed it—the company set records for revenue, iPhone sales, and iPad sales during the 3-month period. But all Wall Street saw was declining growth.

The Cupertino tech giant's stock dropped 8% that day in after-hours trading, falling from $550 per share to $500, and it has yet to rebound. But Tim Cook says Apple's taking advantage of the unexpected price drop by going on a major buyback spree...

Tim Cook: Apple working on ‘some really great stuff’ in new product categories

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 24, 2017

"There will be new categories," Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal in an interview regarding Apple's recent buyback of more than $14 billion in stock. "We're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff."

Now, Cook has alluded to Apple getting into new product categories before. But speaking with the Journal, the CEO seems more intent than ever on convincing worried investors that his company has some major things in the pipeline...

Theme Thursday: Anode, Clarity, i7Cons and more

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Welcome to the second edition of our Theme Thursday roundup, which highlights some of the best theme releases each week. While this column is primarily focused on iPhone and iPod touch themes, many of them are also compatible with the iPad. We also often mention some worthwhile alternatives to consider looking into. The themes featured this week are: Anode, Clarity, Colorize7, i7Cons and UltraFlat for iOS 7. Take a look…

Apple seeds fifth OS X 10.9.2 beta to developers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 20, 2018

Apple has seeded the fifth OS X 10.9.2 beta to registered Mac developers this evening. The last few beta releases have each come about a week apart, suggesting that they're nearing a final version.

The new build is available to registered Mac developers through the Software Update tab in the Mac App Store, or as a full download via the Mac section of Apple’s online developer portal…

iOS 7 bug discovered that allows disabling of ‘Find My iPhone’ without password

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

A major flaw has been discovered in iOS 7 that seemingly allows users to disable the important 'Find My iPhone' feature on a device without typing in the typically-required password. Turning off the feature on a stolen device makes it invisible to Apple's location service.

And what's worse is, the flaw isn't difficult to exploit. The bug can be reproduced on any device [that we've seen] running iOS 7.0.4 by following a few simple steps that involve making changes in the iCloud section of the Settings app and entering in a dummy password...

Popular ‘Flappy Bird’ game earning $50k per day in ad revenue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 9, 2018

While discussing the latest mobile gaming craze that is Flappy Bird on our recent Let's Talk iOS podcast, I wondered out loud how much money the developer was making from his newfound success. The game, which is free with ads, has enjoyed a spontaneous reign at the top of the App Store.

Apparently he's doing rather well for himself. In a recent interview with The Verge, developer Dong Nguyen says that Flappy Bird is earning an average of $50,000 per day from ads. It's been download over 50M times, and has been sitting atop iOS and Android app stores for nearly a month...

Apple’s Arizona sapphire plant said to be gearing up to build 5″ iPhone displays

Cody Lee ∙ February 6, 2014

We've known since last fall that Apple was teaming up with GT Advanced to open up a sapphire crystal manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona. But up until now, it's been unclear exactly what components it would be making. Camera lenses? Touch ID covers?

Well according to a new report from 9to5Mac, the plant is gearing up to build iPhone displays. Citing import/export and other records, the site says that the Mesa plant has just procured enough equipment to make over 100M ~5-inch iPhone displays this year...

Kids driving game Toca Cars is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

I hope you have downloaded the excellent Spark Camera which was made temporarily free thanks to Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promotion. Every Thursday a new paid app picked by Apple's editors goes free for a limited time in the App Store as Apple's way of thanking fans for their loyalty.

As Spark Camera today returns to its original $1.99 price, a new app has gone free until next Thursday, Toca Cars. Originally released last September and normally costing $2.99, this charming kids driving game from Toca Boca (a studio that makes digital toys for kids) has a 4.5-star rating and was never free, until today.

I wholeheartedly recommend you grab Toca Cars in the App Store now...

Threes mixes matching and math for a minimalistic strategy game

Lory Gil ∙ February 6, 2014

Sudoku intimidates me. It’s not that I don’t like math. It’s just that puzzle games based on numbers reminds me of middle school. I feel like some unseen teacher is hovering over me, judging my abilities.

Threes is a minimalistic matching game that doesn’t require you to solve any kind of puzzle, so you can get your math fix without feeling like you have to show your work…

Olympic athletes may use Apple devices during opening ceremony after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 6, 2014

Cody ran an interesting story yesterday about Samsung allegedly requiring Olympians to cover the Apple logos on their iPhones and iPads during the opening ceremony, as part of giving free devices to athletes. It had all the elements you'd expect from a typical viral story: a pair of tech titans who hate each other's guts out, a major sports event, greed, ad money and corporate jealousy.

Too bad it wasn't true. It's been confirmed by both Samsung and the International Olympic Committee today that athletes are absolutely allowed to use any device they wish during the Opening Ceremonies. This means iPhones and yes - the Apple logos are allowed, too!

Forecast brings the Weather app to the Lock screen

Joe Rossignol ∙ February 6, 2014

I awoke this morning to blizzard conditions and cancelled classes, giving me the fitting opportunity to take a look at an exciting recently updated jailbreak tweak called Forecast for iPhone and iPod touch. I recommend you take a look too, as this is definitely one of the better packages available on Cydia.

Forecast replaces Slide to Unlock on the Lock screen with a widget on the bottom left that displays the current temperature and conditions, in addition to anticipated highs and lows for the day. For example, in the screenshot above, the current temperature is 34 ºF with mostly clear skies on a crisp February night. And that's just the beginning of what this tweak has to offer…